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1/28/15

I'm one of those guys who doesn't mind loaning anything he owns to anybody who needs it. When our kids were young they would always fight over toys, so we declared one simple rule to deal with most of those issues.

THE RULE: If you can't share it, you can't have it. Simple. Powerful. You'll never understand the power of something so simple until you take a toy that one of your children got for their birthday or for Christmas or bought with their own money, but vehemently refused to share with a sibling, even in the least, and hand it over to the sibling that wants to play with it just a little. Follow it up with, "You know the rule, If you can't share it, you can't have it. I guess it's theirs now." That's a face that will leave a lasting impression. Utter shock and disbelief. But, it puts things in perspective. We hold things a lot less tightly in the future.

The bottom line is, a lot of the things we think we OWN are simply on LOAN. That is true in the case of our BODIES. We treat them like we own them, when in reality they are simply on loan to us from God. He made them, He owns them, we are simply stewards of them, which means we will have to give an account to the owner one day. Actually, we have to give an account daily for how we use them or abuse them.

Now, I started this whole thing out with my confession that I'll loan you anything I've got. All you have to do is ask. I'm not going to worry about it. I assume, or at least hope, that you'll bring it back in working order.

But, when I borrow something of yours...well, that's a different subject all together. I don't mind borrowing your stuff if I need it, but, I want to return it to you in, at least as good of shape as you loaned it to me...if not better. If I borrow your car, I might fill it up with gas. If I borrow your chainsaw, I may have the chain sharpened. It's about my integrity...my testimony. I don't want to be "that guy". You know the one I'm talking about, who borrows your stuff, tears it up, dirties it up and brings it back semi-unusable. Nobody likes "that guy". So, I don't want to be "that guy".
So, why would I want to be "that guy" with God. He loaned me a body. The last thing I want to do is to return it to Him in less than the best condition possible. In fact, I'd like to give it back better than I received it.

1/9/15

When dogs give birth, they always give birth to dogs. Sadly enough, same is true for cats. Cattle breed more cattle. Birds breed birds. This is not a lightbulb moment for you, I'm assuming. So, what's my point?

What happens in the world of God's creation is also applicable to we humans as well. Love breeds love. Compassion breeds compassion. And generosity breeds generosity.

In late November and early December I challenged Crosspoint Church to outrageous generosity...to give away $30,000 to a local Non-Profit making a real difference in the lives of those in real need in our community, to adopt 100 families for Christmas and to give away 1,000's of hours of their time to serve others.

The Result: Crosspoint was up to the challenge and beyond. Great! Now what? What happens when you embrace outrageous generosity? Well, we're still finding out. So far, here's what's happened. The weekly giving of these people didn't go down to finish up the year. It didn't even remain at the status quo. It actually went UP...considerably up. But, maybe that can explained by the end of the year. You know, getting in those last-minute 2014 donations for tax purposes.

But, what would happen once 2015 rolled around? Everyone had already given with outrageous generosity. They'd already doubled their normal giving for the last two weeks of 2014. Now what?

Well, the first Sunday of 2015 came around and the verdict...the giving TRIPLED!

So, what's the takeaway? GENEROSITY BREEDS GENEROSITY. Just like dogs breed dogs and cats breed cats...generosity breeds generosity. The more generous you live, the more generous you want to live. Generosity breeds generosity Amazing!